Local

UPDATED WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 11:30 AM, after SFGN went to print on Tuesday, December 28.

The two men whose bodies were found inside their rented home at 2513 NE 8th Avenue in Wilton Manors were domestic partners Kevin Mark Powell, 47, and Steve Adams, 52, former residents of Hollywood, Florida.

Their bodies were discovered by the Wilton Manors police after Adams' sister called authorities because her brother had not arrived at her home for a planned holiday gathering.

As Kevin Powell had been very ill with Diabetes, Wilton Manors police responded to the residence for a "wellness check." Only months earlier, Powell had undergone organ transplant surgery to save his life. His partner, Adams, according to the sun-sentinel.com, had worked as a nurse at Jackson Memorial, most recently in clinical care.

Powell, whose hobby was arts and crafts, and interior decorating, had been featured on the Home and Garden channel five years ago, after creating a home for his dogs within his home, including miniature pet sized lighting and furniture. "The entire area was set under a stairwell in his Hollywood home," said one of his neighbors from Hollywood, where he lived at the time.

Investigators are looking for the victims’ vehicle, a black 2003 Saturn Vue with Florida tag 989VRL. At this time, investigators do not have a motive and have not named any suspect(s).

Channel 4 responded to the Wilton Manors murder scene and interviewed neighbor Mitch Geasler, who told them “I was like, oh my God!” . Police had woken up Geasler early Sunday morning as they began their investigation.

Geasler said the block where they live is transient, filled with snowbirds, renters and vacationers at a nearby bed and breakfast.

Geasler also told a tv cameraman from channel 4 that “the two victims were passionate about small birds they kept in a large tented aviary in their backyard.” The couple's Pomeranian, Petey, was apparently turned over to neighbors after the attack.

Another neighbor, Brentley Taylor, told Channel 7 that both men “were very nice gentlemen,” and he, like the rest of his neighbors, were in a state of shock over the killings.

For investigative purposes, the Wilton Manors Police Dept. has not revealed the manner of death, other than to say it was a certain homicide.

The killings add to the number of gay men already murdered in South Florida this year, featured in a special report by SFGN on November 3, 2010. The stories are accessible online sfgn.com/issue41.

SFGN went to print on Tuesday as the story was still developing. A more comprehensive story about the slayings is now available on the website of www.sun-sentinel.com, a media partner of SFGN.

Anyone with information about this double homicide is urged to contact WMPD Detective Biagio Balistreri at 954-390-2150.

To provide anonymous information about this case, the public is asked to contact Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS